Westport couple loses home to fire

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that destroyed the home of Harley and Eva Gage in Westport on Thursday. American News Photos by Scott Feldman

A husband and wife lost their home after a garage fire spiraled out of control and spread.

At 5:39 p.m. Thursday, the Aberdeen Rural Fire Department received a call that a fire started in a garage at 38495 123rd St., Westport, owned by Harley Gage and his wife, Eva. When firefighters arrived, the fire had already reached the home.

Derwin Kampa, chief of the Aberdeen Rural Fire Department said the fire spread within minutes because of the wind conditions. The house fire quickly turned into a grass fire that burned up about 10 acres by 7:30 p.m., Kampa said.

Wind speeds were gusting between 23-to-35 mph at 5:23 p.m., said meteorologist Ken Gillespie of the Aberdeen National Weather Service.

Only the skeleton of the house's frame remained by 7:30 p.m., as firefighters were still battling to extinguish the fire. The garage was destroyed and most of the items inside the home were burnt or still burning.

Kampa estimated there were between 30 and 35 firefighters on scene at about 7:45 p.m. and they were expecting to stay for a few more hours. As he spoke, some rain began to fall. Kampa said he hoped the rain would continue because it would them out.

He said there were no reported injuries.

For his part, Gage said he was thankful that he and his wife managed to escape their home unharmed. He said that Eva noticed a great deal of smoke coming into the kitchen after they finished dinner. They called 911 and were able to walk out the front door.

Gage said he thought the fire was caused by a grill in the garage that he used to cook dinner. He said that he shut the grill off after the food was ready, but he thought it must have gotten hot enough to ignite a nearby bench. Kampa said that there will be an investigation into the cause of the fire, but it hadn't begun since they were still putting out the fire.

"It burned like there was gasoline," he said.

Gage said he was lucky that both of his vehicles, a pickup and a car, were not in the garage when the fire started, so he was able to drive them a safe distance away from the fire.

Several of the Gages' neighbors came over to assist when they saw what was happening, including Melvin Schaunaman and his wife, MaryAnn, who brought over food, drinks and other supplies for the Gages while the firefighters continued to work.

"People in this neighborhood are really good about that," Harley Gage said.

Schaunaman said that he and his wife lost their home to a fire in August that was caused by lightning, so they can understand what the Gages were going through.

The Gages plan to spend the night with a neighbor who offered them shelter. Gage said that he does have homeowner's insurance.